Shoot 'Em Up (DVD)

Advantages: Action packed from the first few seconds
Disadvantages: Thin on plot, colour fades to limit blood

...the incredibly fun action comedy Shoot 'Em Up. A movie that I wrote off earlier in the year just simply because the movie's title was quite frankly shit! The adverts, and the all present bus stop billboard notices burned a hole in your brain, and made this a no go area for me. It was during the festive period that for whatever reason (I can't quite remember) I decided to put the DVD in my player. It took about 45 seconds into the actual story (intro's ...
...the humour with equal parts Shoot 'Em Up starts as it means to go on, never once allowing the action to cease or the humour to decline during the movies entire duration. Shoot 'Em Up is 86 minutes of completely dreamy film making for an action or comedy fan, because does not transcend into a boring or monotonous scene, character introductions are generally done during the action. Even the movies sex scene is intermingled with action shots, and clever ... Read review

Advantages: Fun, tongue in cheek.
Disadvantages: No real story.

...old said "Can we watch Shoot 'em up, Tom says it's mint". Basic plot/premise: Clive Owen plays Mr Smith, an ex undercover special ops guy with a penchant for eating carrots, and occasionally using them for weapons and/or tools. I will describe the opening few minutes and then not spoil any more of the plot, instead give you a kind of 'thoughts shower' about the film: We see a heavily pregnant woman being chased into a disused warehouse by a gun ...
...from between her thighs to shoot other baddies.......I'm not spoiling anymore. What follows then is sheer comic book, unbelievable, mangaesque (if that is a word) run, fight, kill, gore, B movie action. Apparently the Director worked on the A Team, you'd never guess (sarcasm). Our hero is not only resourceful when it comes to killing and ways in which to kill, but also as a fugitive, 'nanny', lover and all round nice but nasty guy. I found myself ... Read review

Advantages: Some good action scenes, decent performances
Disadvantages: Bit far fetched and lacking plot

When a movie's called Shoot Em Up, you expect to find it on the bottom shelf of the rental store. What you don't expect to see is names such as Clive Owen, Monica Belluci and Paul Giamatti starring in it. The movie is a very difficult one to judge, you'll either like it or hate it. I don't think there can be much of an in-between. The film opens with Smith (Owen) sitting on a bench at night minding his own business. Soon the silence is broken by ...
...angry guy. When a gun is shown, Owen follows in pursuit and finds himself embroiled in a gigantic shoot-up with various goons for hire. At the end he's left with a dead mother and a newborn baby with a villainous crime boss (Giamatti) after their blood. What ensues over the next 80-minutes is a completely insane series of gun fights brings in a lactating hooker (Belluci) to take care of the baby as he looks to get the baby to safety and find out ... Read review

Advantages: A fun movie
Disadvantages: none really

Shoot em Up was made in 2007 and was written and directed by Michael Davis, the main cast include Clive Owen ( Children of Men ) who plays Smith, Monica Bellucci ( Passion of the Christ ) who plays Donna, and Paul Giamatti ( The Illusionist ) who plays Hertz. The story centres around a new born baby whom Smith as named Oliver. In the opening scenes a pregnant woman runs past Smith who is sitting quietly at a bus stop, she is pursued by a gunman. ...
...decides to investigate and from here on in Smith's life in no longer quiet. In a room up the alley Smith is forced to help the pregnant woman deliver her child, unfortunately many more gunmen arrive and the mother ends up being killed in the crossfire. From here on in Smith protects the child from what appears to be and endless onslaught of gunmen and rogues. In the process he learns why the child is so important and has so many after his blood, ... Read review

Advantages: Great action scenes, good cast.
Disadvantages: N/A

I just want to start this review by saying that this is a ridiculously over-the-top violent but entertaining crime thriller. Clive Owen plays Smith, a man who becomes entangled with a violent gang led by Hertz (a manic Paul Giamatti) after delivering the baby of a mother who has just been killed by the gang. Smith saves the baby and vows to protect it from Hertz and his mob. Smith visits a lactating prostitute and asks her to help him care for the ...
...his pursuit of the baby and Smith must move quickly to protect himself, the baby and the prostitute Donna (Monica Bellucci). This was a very entertaining film, some of the stunts and action scenes were choreographed to perfection. This was no mean feat when you consider how long and intricate some of them were. For pure action, this would be tough to beat. Ok, so not many things were blown up but the fight scenes were great entertainment. The story ... Read review

Advantages: Perfect for the action junkie - a highly stupid movie with bags of cool.
Disadvantages: Not enjoyable if you forget to switch your brain off!

...SHOOT 'EM UP There is a sequence at the beginning of Shoot 'Em Up that easily sums up the movie in question and answers whether one will enjoy the silly, hollow action-fest that follows. Having already despatched one goon with a carrot though the throat (yes, you read that correctly - a carrot, through the throat) and dropped many more gunmen in the rather spectacular pre-credits shoot out (accompanied by Nirvana's rousing rock-anthem Breed), it is only when Smith (Clive Owen) helps to deliver a child from a pregnant women mid-battle and removes the umbilical cord with a gunshot, spraying blood all over the mothers face, that you finally recognise where you're likely to stand with this movie. The mother's cry of "what the f***?" speaks words. If you're wearing a big wide grin at this point, and are the type of person happy to leave... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: non-stop action, good cast, tongue in cheek humour
Disadvantages: lots of bad langugage which could offend some

...The cast would suggest that this film has the potential to be an award winning film. Paul Giammati has starred and excelled in such films as Lady in the Water, Sideways and Cinderella Man; Clive Owen in Inside Man and Elizabeth: the Golden Age; Monica Bellucci in The Passion of the Christ, The Matrix Reloaded and, the controversial, Irreversible. The storyline suggests your average action-packed thriller. However, this well-cast action movie is a little different than what you'd perhaps expect. Shoot 'Em Up tells the story of Smith, the kind stranger with a secret, who saves a pregnant woman from a deadly shoot out. After delivering her baby amidst showers of gun fire, the mother dies and Smith is left to protect the newborn infant from the criminals who were after his mother. He seeks Donna Quintano (Bellucci), a prostitute who has... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...This is a fast paced action movie, as you might expect from the title. I expected it to be a fun action / thriller movie, and it was at some points. There is a lot of shooting, killing and comedy in the film. I liked it at times, like when Smith gets annoyed with people and sorts things out his own way. However at times I didnt enjoy it because I am not very good at enjoying un--realistic things. I didn't like it because some bits of the film are very weird, and some bits are just a bit childish or poor. You are going to be hard-pressed to find a movie more over the top than Shoot 'Em Up. What Michael Davis does here is take every action movie cliché (i.e. firing two guns while jumping through the air, shooting guns out of speeding cars, etc.) and takes it to a whole new level entirely. It works namely because the violence here is just... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful